The Strength of the Weak...
by Gray
Summary: What would have happened to Soujiro if someone had saved him from his family all those years ago? What would have happened to him if he had a good role-model? Should I continue this?


Disclaimer: Now how in the world could I own Rurouni Kenshin? 

Rurouni Kenshin

"The Strength of the Weak…"

By Gray

"Someone help me! They're going to kill me! Please! Somebody! HELP ME!" 

It was a very cold night. The air you breathed could be seen easily in front of you as it was expelled from your lungs. What's more, a storm was brewing, as the heavy clouds signified heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. For Kenshin Himura, formerly Shinta Himura, and more recently, Hittokiri Battousai, it signified more.

"There is an ominous feeling in the air…" He thought to himself as he walked slowly down the street. 

"I had best find shelter soon…" Was his next thought as he noted the sky darkening further. He had heard of a wanted man in the area as he was passing through, and his oath to never kill again, as well as his creed to protect the innocent as dictated by the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu he practiced, had made him decide to perhaps see about apprehending the man. He sighed as he felt in his pockets.

"I'm virtually penniless…So the inn's no good…" He then remembered something.

"Ah! I remember now! I believe Keno lives in this area…" He smiled. Seeing him would be nice. He hadn't seen him for a while now. With his course decided, Kenshin headed in the direction of his old friend Keno's house. He had taken barely three steps however, when he heard shouting nearby.

"What is going on?" He wondered as he moved towards the noises.

"HELP ME!" 

"YOU CAN"T RUN BRAT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"Yeah! Kill him brother!" Kenshin's eyes narrowed. The first voice was that of a child, and the other two were of older men. He wasn't sure what was going on, but if the men were going to kill the boy, he couldn't allow it to happen. With one leap, he was over the wall of the home, and in the yard. His eyes scanned the area quickly. A boy was running from a group of adults, two of which held weapons. His eyes narrowed to slits.

"A sword and a bokken against a boy not even in his double-digits?" He could feel the bloodlust he tried so hard to fight come roaring to the surface. He wanted to kill them. He wanted to take those scum and cut their black hearts out…Shaking his head, Kenshin regained control of himself and decided that the time to act was now.

"Stop this right now!" He roared, causing everyone to freeze and turn to stare at him. The boy, he noted, held a look of intense fear, and yet, he could see the faintest hint of amazement in his eyes. Kenshin took slow, measured steps towards them, his eyes narrowed and angry.

"Why are you trying to murder a child?" He asked coldly.

"Tell me! What reason could you possibly have that warrants the death of this poor boy?" He asked. He noted with anger that the boy's clothes were in shambles. His hair was messy and his skin was bruised with dried blood, dirt, and whatnot upon it. What's more, the boy looked extremely underfed, and all in all, he was obviously living a very hard life here. Finally, one of the people answered him. A slimy looking man with a crooked smile upon his lips. Kenshin met the smile with his unreadable hard face.

"Relax my friend…we're just punishing the kid for not doing his chores. We aren't really going to kill him, just hurt him a little. I mean how could we even think of killing our own dear little brother?" The man smiled wider. The boy looked fearfully at Kenshin, his eyes seemed to be trying to tell him something. The man continued to smile. Kenshin didn't buy it.

"You are lying." He said simply. The boy's face looked a little relieved. 

"Aw to hell with this! Let's just kill them both! I'll show you all how skilled I am!" The man with the sword roared, raising the weapon above his head. Kenshin almost laughed despite himself. Before the man could even blink, Kenshin was behind him and smashing his reverse sword into the small of his back, causing him to drop the weapon and cry out in agony. Kenshin regarded him coolly.

"You are a pathetic fool and were I so inclined to make it so, you would have been dead before you even raised the sword." With that said, Kenshin turned to the other people, ignoring the weakly moaning man on the ground behind him. The boy was watching him in awe.

"How dare you do that to him! I'll kill you!" The man armed with the bokken shouted, rushing at Kenshin sloppily. Kenshin sighed tiredly, as this one was even worse then the last. He simply smashed the hilt of his sword into the man's head, dropping him like a sack of rice. With the two combatants, if one could call them that, out of the way, Kenshin regarded the rest of the people.

"It is obvious that you will only bring harm to his boy, so I am going to take him from you now. Consider yourselves lucky that I am not the man I was during the Revolution, or you would all be little more then bloody carcasses right now." Finished, Kenshin sheathed his sword, and turned to the boy, who was gaping at him. Kenshin smiled warmly and bent down to his level.

"I'm sorry you have had to deal with this, but I would like to ask you if you could please come with me now." The boy wordlessly nodded, and Kenshin stood up, holding out a hand to him.

"Shall we go now?' He asked. The boy just nodded. The two walked out of the gates, and the family watched them go dumbly. Unbeknownst them, a certain figure had watched the entire thing from within the storage shed. Makoto Shishio smiled and stepped out of the shed, his sword drawn. It glinted as the lightning struck…

"So…What's your name?" Kenshin asked as he and the boy walked towards the house of his friend Keno.

"Um…Soujiro…sir." The boy answered meekly. Kenshin smiled slightly.

"Soujiro huh? That's a nice name…It sounds strong, and yet gentle." Kenshin looked down at the boy, who was staring up at him.

"My name is Kenshin Himura. It's a pleasure to meet you Soujiro." He hoped Soujiro wasn't still frightened.

"I suppose I'll take you to the police tomorrow and perhaps they can find a home for you somewhere else." Kenshin said as they walked. Soujiro looked down.

"What's wrong?" Kenshin asked, puzzled by his behaviour.

"Um…you're very strong Himura-san." Soujiro said slowly.

"Well, yes, I suppose so." Kenshin answered, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"Yet…You protected me…A weak person…" Soujiro almost seemed to be talking to himself.

"Why? I mean, since I'm weak, I should have died…" He whispered. Kenshin stared at him, shocked.

"That's not true Soujiro! The reason I protected you is because the strong are supposed to protect those who can't protect themselves! The strong must use their strength for the benefit of others." Kenshin himself had been taught this by his master, Seijuro Hiiko.

"But…That's not what he said…" Soujiro whispered quietly.

"Not what who said Soujiro?" Kenshin asked.

 "Shishio-san said that the strong survive, and the weak die…It made sense to me before…But now I'm not so sure…" Soujiro was staring up at the sky, his face unreadable.

"Shishio-san did he say?" Kenshin thought to himself. 

"Um…Himura-san…" Soujiro said to him. Kenshin snapped out of his thoughts and answered the boy.

"Yes Soujiro?" He asked.

"Um…Would it be alright…If I stayed with you…?" Soujiro seemed a bit embarrassed by his request. Kenshin smiled slightly. Should he take this boy into his own care? He was unsure. By doing so, the boy could be placed in danger, and to avoid that, he would have to teach him sword-fighting, which would mean teaching him the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Plus there was the fact that the Battousai always lingered deep within himself…

"Then again, having a student, someone to take care of…could possibly help me become less like Battousai, and more like my true self…" Staring at Soujiro's hopeful face helped him make up his mind as well. Finally, he made a decision.

"Very well Soujiro. I will be your Guardian from now on. But I insist you call me Kenshin, and not Himura-san…" Soujiro nodded happily, and the two continued walking.

"Kenshin?" 

"Yes Soujiro?"

"Do you think I could ever become as strong as you?"

"Soujiro…You may already be…"

Author's Notes: I wrote this from an idea I had. I was wondering what might have happened to Soujiro, if someone had saved him from his "family" instead of him being forced to kill them. What would happen to him if he had a positive role model like Kenshin, instead of a negative one like Shishio? Naturally, the question came up about what would happen to Kenshin if he had a role-model that was evil instead of a good one like Seijuro as well, but I'll leave that for another fic. Kenshin and Soujiro are actually a lot alike in their pasts, they're almost like two sides of the same coin. Anyway, let me know what you think, and I apologize if any names and whatnot are misspelled. There are just so many different translations that I've seen of various names in Kenshin, that it's hard to decide which is right. Please let me know if I should continue this, or leave it as is.


End file.
